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TAP TIMES -33- DECEMBER 2022

DRAM market is forecast year, before the first signs of a significant
to fall 18% this year DRAM market correction began to appear
in late 2Q22.

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona — The DRAM
market often enjoys robust sales in Micron’s sales guidance
the second half of the year when sys- Micron, for example, reported a 1% in-
tem makers place orders for memory crease in its fiscal 3Q22 sales (ending in
to use in their new generation of May).
products they plan to release for the
year-end holiday season. A looming market collapse was not evi-
dent in its quarterly sales results but then
Slowing demand for DRAM the company dropped a bomb by giving
That scenario has not panned out this sales guidance of -17% for its fiscal fourth
year. Weakening economic conditions and quarter (ending in August). Micron’s actu-
high inflation rates have slowed global de- al 4Q22 sales fell -23%, much lower than
mand for personal computers, mainstream its guidance.
smartphones, and other consumer elec-
tronics. Late in the year, Micron also said that it
expected its annual DRAM bit volume to

As a result, DRAM demand has spiraled fall -1%, giving further evidence of the
downward and sales are now forecast to rapid and severe downturn in the DRAM
fall -40% to $29.3 billion in the second market.
half of 2022 compared to $49.0 billion in
1H22 (Figure ). For all of 2022, the DRAM SK hynix, Samsung decline
market is forecast to fall -18%. SK hynix (-23%) and Samsung (-20%)
also announced steep declines in their
Robust sales 3Q22 memory sales and both expect
The DRAM market enjoyed robust sales DRAM market softness to continue
during the first several months of the through the end of this year and at least
into 1Q23.

The big three
memory mak-
ers noted in
their earnings
conference
calls that infla-
tion had put a
dent in
consumer
discretionary
spending, at
a time of year
when sales
normally heat
up.

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